A different life
by Myra Bones
Summary: Harry's had a rough life, and this time ... he reacts differently. This is what happens if an abused Harry hadn't taken a Gryffindor approach to life, but a Slytherin one. Eventually Drarry but not until 5th year at least. Probably M for gore as well as ... other M reasons...
1. Prologue

Prologue

Green eyes stared over the battlefield with grim satisfaction in them. They had suffered losses, sure ... but the other side had suffered much more. Only a few were still standing, determination shining in their eyes as they shot red and green curses every way they could ... but it didn't even matter.

Next to him, Severus Snape stood, eyes carefully looking around them for any signs of danger, no matter what shape it took. His cloak was soaked in blood from the Acromantula that had attacked them earlier. The sour man had saved his life once more, and Harry had repaid him by defending his actions and loyalty to his friends and his lover. They owed each other, again.

Harry watched as the last curse was fired and a now-lifeless corpse fell to the ground, wand rolling away from his opened hand ominously. He didn't know the man, but he'd died as the last fighter of his own cause. A relieved smile slowly spread over his lips, a breathless laugh escaping him as he realized that they had the victory: they had won. He moved forward to talk to his fighters, the warriors he'd fought and now won with.

Behind him, where he'd stood just seconds ago, dark blood seeped steadily from a gash he'd cut into the man's neck, soaking into the pale white beard and covering the bright blue irises.

* * *

 _Heya guys!_

 _So ... it's been a while._

 _Sorry._

 _I've already got most of the first chapter, so I hope to have that up by this time next week at most._

 _Love,_

 _Myra Bones_


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter one

Unfeeling

Harry looked out of the window of the train, feeling somewhat relieved that he'd caught it on time. It certainly wouldn't have been a good start if he'd been late for the damn thing. Of course, it wouldn't have been his fault, either: that beast Hagrid had *forgotten* to tell him how he was supposed to get on a non-existing platform.

A small smile crossed his face when the train started up, leaving the platform with a finality that he felt as well. This was it - he was free. Free from the Dursleys, free from the cupboard, free from the wretched life he'd had up till now. He would never go back to those damned *muggles* ... at least not until he had the means to exact his revenge.

He glanced up when the door opened. A boy with red hair, freckles and a smudge on his nose looked around the nearly empty coupe with a hopeful expression on his face. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked, already stepping inside. "Everywhere else is full, and-"

Harry didn't give him a chance to continue, raising an incredulous eyebrow. "Is it?" he asked in a mocked voice, watching the redhead halt and look at him. "Did you know that this train has five hundred seats? Or that the average amount of students one year in Hogwarts holds forty is?" The boy shook his head, now looking a bit desolate and upset. "I somehow find it hard to believe that this year holds over two hundred new students, don't you? So yes, I do mind. Find an empty coupe if no one wants to sit with you."

The redhead stared at him for a moment, shocked and upset, but after a full minute in which Harry simply stared back at him he turned around and presumably followed his advice. Harry personally didn't care much *where* he went, as long as he actually left and he could enjoy the silence again.

If only it had actually lasted.

Once again, the door opened and a boy looked in, though this time, at least, his hair was white blond instead of the hideous orange the other boy had sported. This time, he wasn't alone, either: he was accompanied by two boys that looked as if their evolution from apes was slightly more recent than that of most humans.

"I heard Harry Potter is in this coupe," the blond said, looking around with narrowed eyes as if searching for something that could harm him. Harry suspected he wouldn't find much. The two apes stood by the door while their keeper apparently decided it was safe and walked in - without asking the person already occupying the coupe, of course. Harry was beginning to suspect that manners weren't one of this society's core values.

"Did you?" he asked when the blond had made himself quite comfortable on the seat opposite to him, in the meanwhile brushing aside the owl Hagrid had given him. Hedwig gave a disapproving hoot and pecked his hand while settling on the rack overhead. "Because I haven't given anyone my name since entering the train." He didn't bother trying to deny who he was: the boy wouldn't have made himself so comfortable if he wasn't already sure of who he was with.

A smirk crossed the slightly pointy face as he rubbed his hand a bit. "Or I used a spell to find you," he agreed easily enough, grinning. "I'm Malfoy," he introduced himself, looking expectant. When he didn't get the reaction he was obviously hoping for, he repeated his name, as if Harry was exceptionally stupid. It must be a reaction from being around the two apes all the time. "*Draco* Malfoy."

Harry simply nodded in acknowledgement, mostly to see the boy's reaction to him seemingly not knowing or recognizing his name. This wasn't necessarily true: in fact, his mind was racing with the implications of the name. From the very few books he'd managed to get his hands on (Hagrid hadn't wanted him buying most of the books he'd wanted) the Malfoys were a very powerful family indeed. He'd best not anger the scion of the family if he wanted a future in this world.

"You already know my name, so I won't introduce myself," he said once he'd reached his decision, having felt that the silence had reigned long enough. "It seems I won't have to bother with introductions a lot: this entire world knows my name," he added with a wry smile. Draco cocked his head, staring at him with what seemed like intrigue in his eyes.

"Crabbe," one of the apes grunted out, pulling the attention of the two decidedly smaller boys to him. It was only when the other one added "Goyle" that Harry realized they weren't asking for food but were, in fact, introducing themselves. He nodded in acknowledgement of it, trying to hide his surprise at the fact that they could actually speak. They didn't look like they had the necessary brain cells for it.

"Interesting friends you keep," he told Draco with a slight smirk, watching a red hue slowly cover the blond's pale cheeks. "I can see why you'd come looking for me, even if you don't know me. I imagine they don't make a whole lot of interesting conversation. They don't look exactly ... witty."

Draco seemed to shrink in on himself for a moment before a neutral expression effortlessly covered his face and he once again righted himself. Without wanting to, Harry was somewhat impressed at the control the other boy obviously had. "They're my bodyguards," he answered eventually, shrugging a bit. "Father hired them to ensure my safety in Hogwarts. We have a lot of enemies, and very little trust in the teachers at school."

"Of course," Harry agreed smoothly, deciding not to question the boy. A smile curled around his lips to show the boy that he understood completely. "They certainly look like they'd do a very ... efficient job," he added, watching the two apes grin proudly, puffing out their chests like peacocks. Harry wrinkled his nose and looking away, facing Draco again.

Said boy shrugged, somehow managing to make that look as regal as everything else he did. "It's not like I really need them," he reasoned, fingering his wand a bit. "But mother was worried I wouldn't be able to defend myself. Ridiculous, of course ... father made sure I would be able to defend myself quite well." He seemed to realize he'd said too much and changed the subject quickly, looking his companion up and down with slight surprise. "*Why* are you already in your school robes?"

Harry sneered slightly as he looked at himself. "Because I had a choice: wear this, or wear *muggle* clothes," he answered with a grimace. "So the choice wasn't that difficult." He didn't add that what little clothing the Dursleys had given him were much too large for him, or that they had been his cousin's before he had outgrown them. His only consolation was that his cousin tended to outgrow his clothes in such a ridiculous speed that they had hardly been worn.

Malfoy understood his distaste for muggle clothing nonetheless if his sneer was any sign. "*Muggle* clothes?" he asked in an incredulous voice, looking absolutely horrified on Harry's behalf. "Why would you wear that filth, or even own it? Don't you have any proper clothes?" He motioned to the robes Harry was currently wearing. "Those are of a good quality, so I *know* you have a proper taste."

Harry refrained from rolling his eyes at that. 'Of course,' he thought to himself. 'As if I would allow anything but the very best quality when entering this world. I need to make a good impression, after all.' He kept his thoughts to himself, simply raising an eyebrow at the boy ranting about filth and 'damn muggles'. "I lived in the muggle world," he said simply, feeling some satisfaction in being able to use the past tense.

Looking at Malfoy, you'd think someone had personally offended him. "You were *what*?" he asked in a ridiculously high-pitched voice, even for a boy who hadn't entered puberty yet. At Harry's responding shrug, his already-wide eyes grew even wider. Harry was impressed that was even physically possible. "You grew up in that filth? *You*, of all people? You can't possibly live with muggles! I insist that you live in a proper Wizarding family!" the boy raved.

A wry, somewhat amused smile crossed over Harry's face. "Why, Malfoy, I'm touched," he said with a mocking look, watching the blond boy halt and stare at him in confusion. "With the way you're raving on my behalf, one might even think you care about my well-being."

Malfoy flushed, rooted to the spot from where he'd jumped up just before Harry had interrupted him, undoubtedly to start pacing. Then he coughed awkwardly, eyes a bit wide, and looked away from him pointedly. "Draco," he said eventually, having waited until his complexion had returned to its normal paleness. When all Harry did was shoot him a questioning look, he shrugged and added in a low mumble, "just call me Draco."

Harry blinked, unable to stop a shocked look from crossing his face. That was quick, and most definitely unexpected. He took a moment to right himself again before he nodded, a slight smile curling around his lips. "Alright," he said eventually, shrugging it off. It didn't matter what he called the boy, and if he wanted the familiarity, that was fine with him.

Draco smiled at that, looking absurdly proud of himself for getting him to agree to call him by his first name rather than his last. For a moment, he wondered if the boy wasn't trying to win his trust for his family, but then he decided it didn't matter even if he was. With his *title* in this world, almost everyone was bound to have some ulterior motive for befriending him: with Ma-*Draco*, he, at least, knew this beforehand.

"Besides," he said after a moment, wanting to get back on the subject they had been talking about - he might not like the Dursleys, but they had been going towards a point he rather liked: his getting away from them. "I'm not with my *wonderful* family now, am I? They're behind him, and I'm never going back to their hospitality. Even if getting away from them means living in a hotel or something."

Draco once again adopted a horrified look when he said that, shaking his head almost frantically. "You can't live in a hotel! Do you even know how famous you are?" At Harry's helpless shrug, he suddenly seemed determined. "You can't possibly be allowed to live in a hotel. It's not safe. You can come to the Manor, we have plenty of room."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the boy, both amused by the certainty with which he spoke and the outburst itself. "No offense, Draco," he said, pretending not to see the proud look that briefly flitted over the boy's face at the use of his first name. "But from what little I've read so far, I wouldn't exactly be allowed at Malfoy Manor." At Malfoy's insulted look, he chuckled softly. "With all due respect to your father, of course ... but the public would never allow it."

Malfoy grimaced and then nodded slightly in agreement. "You might be right," he said after a moment, looking upset at having to admit it. Obviously, he didn't want to admit *he* had been wrong about something - or, at least, hadn't thought it through fully. "*Certain* people would never trust father around you. They'd never allow you to stay over for one night, let alone live with us." He didn't say whether those 'certain people' would be right in assuming he wouldn't be safe with his father, and Harry didn't bother pushing for an answer - he already knew it anyway.

"We'll have to find another way, then," Draco decided, unaware of Harry's minor distraction. When he looked up at the blond, he had a determined expression on his face. Then he changed the subject rather abruptly, though Harry found it amusing to see how long it would take for the determined look to disappear.

Hours later, during a conversation in which the word 'Slytherin' was mentioned too many times for Harry's liking, the door opened once more. Though Draco immediately straightened up and threw away the chocolate frog he'd been chewing on - which Harry considered a tremendous waste of food - Harry welcomed the intrusion. He figured nothing could be worse than hearing the blonde brag about how good Slytherin was. He was sort of hoping the boy would end up in Hufflepuff, just to teach him a lesson.

A girl with bushy brown hair stood in the door, one hand clutching a shiny-looking wand in one hand and a couple of books in the other. When she spoke, she revealed two over-sized teeth that were just made for braces - or a handy spell, of course. "Have any of you seen a toad?" she asked, her tone as bossy as the rest of her appearance, though there was a hint of desperation in her tone as well. "A boy named Neville's lost one."

"A toad?" Malfoy asked her in an incredulous tone, cocking an eyebrow at the other first-year. "Good riddance. Why on earth would anyone bring a toad?" As the girl bristled, offended by the insult to her friend, Malfoy's smirk only grew. "A toad's useless. I guess it suits the owner, if he can't even find the damned thing."

The girl glared at Malfoy, raising her wand at them and opening her mouth. Harry rose immediately, followed closely by the two gorilla's. Harry wrinkled his nose but ignored them, taking out his own wand and pointing it down loosely.

"Is this a good idea?" he asked her softly, eyes narrowed. Her own flicked back and forth between him and the apes, obviously trying not to show fear. "You look like a Muggleborn. You found out about magic maybe a month ago." He looked pointedly behind him. "I'd wager we can do more damage than you can. Would you dare to make the same bet?"

The girl turned to glare at him, but he saw the realisation that he was right shining in her eyes. "Leave," he said softly, more encouraging than threatening. She narrowed her eyes at him, a promise of revenge for her stolen pride in them, before turning around and storming off.

Malfoy whooped the moment the door had fully closed behind her, the edge of her robes still in view before that, too, disappeared. "That was wicked," he said with what looked like a proud grin. Harry sincerely hoped he was wrong, raising an eyebrow at him even as he sat down once again. "You, scaring her off. You're sure to be a Slytherin," he added with a grin. Harry twitched, having hoped that that conversation had expired.

The apes sat down as well, looking upset that it hadn't escalated into a fight. As Harry focused on the book he'd taken out of his trunk, he tried to tune out Draco's praises as much as he could. He'd expected the Pureblood to have been raised better, but apparently not.

Harry stood once more as the train first halted and then stopped, watching as Malfoy hurriedly got dressed. He'd been tuning him out for hours now, and the blond didn't look too happy about it. He'd have to learn to deal with it. Once the gorilla's had performed their first miracle of the day by managing to pull their robes over their heads, they all left the coupe.

Pushing through the masses of people effortlessly, partly because of Draco's status and partly because Harry truly didn't care who he pushed aside, they followed a monstrous voice roaring 'Firs' years o'er here!'. Spotting Hagrid the Keeper easily enough, since he was easily several feet taller than the average student, they went towards him.

Harry ignored Malfoy's mutters and disgusted sneer as they lined up with the other first years. He saw the bushy-haired girl on the other side of the small group, along with a pudgy boy with brown hair who was doubtlessly the owner of the lost toad.

Following the giant's instructions, he cramped into a small boat with Malfoy and his bodyguards. Vaguely, he wondered if it wouldn't keel over with the unfairly distributed weight. He hoped the boats had been supported with magic.

As they set out over the lake and under a tunnel that only Hagrid truly had to duck for, Harry got his first glimpse of what would be his home for the next seven years - and a small smile crossed his lips.

* * *

 _Loyal readers should not have expected a new chapter as soon as I had promised one. New readers have hereby been warned._

 ** _No but seriously. I'm sorry, but with school, work, and general social obligations, I have had very little time to write. I have also, unfortunately, been more inspired for an original story than for this one._**

 ** _I have started the next chapter, but do not expect to have it finished before the christmas holidays, which is in two weeks. Since I'm not sure whether I'll have chapter two posted in time, I hereby wish all of you happy holidays._**

 _Thanks to everyone who favorited/followed this story and/or me, it's been an amazing help in picking up this story again._

 _Love,_

 _Myra Bones_


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